Leaving Frell
by FourSixTenKarate
Summary: Char tightened his hold on my waist. "Marriage is supposed to be forever, but friendship can be forever too. Will you..." He suddenly stopped talking, loosing his train of thought as the clock struck midnight. We did not talk, silence hanging in the air as the dance came to a stop, and I realized that may have been my last dance with Char. -Ella; Leaving Frell


CHAPTER 1

_ "I wonder. You may shun me if you know the truth." He took a breath and was _

_suddenly quite formal. "I apologize if I unintentionally raised your expectations, _

_but I've resolved never to marry." _

_ So the balls hadn't been his idea. I stifled a triumphant laugh. "You didn't _

_mislead me. I've only been saving stories for home. I'll tell them, 'The prince _

_said thus-and-so to me, and I said thus-and-so back to him. And, Mother, I _

_made him laugh. I made our prince laugh. And Father, he danced with me -_

_one night with almost no one except me.' 'What did he wear?' my sister will _

_want to know. 'Did he have his sword with him always?' Father will ask." _

_ Char tightened his hold on my waist. "Marriage is supposed to be forever, but _

_friendship can be forever too. Will you..." _

He suddenly stopped talking, loosing his train of thought as the clock struck midnight. We did not talk, silence hanging in the air as the dance came to a stop, and I realized that may have been my last dance with Char. The reality of it all hit me like a brick; after tonight I will never see him again. The anguish was crushing at first as I hoped–though dared not admit it to anyone–he would recognize me and take me away from my wretched life, but then I was almost happy. Char and the kingdom would be safe because of me. What is one life in the midst of thousands;nothing.

Char pulling me off of the dance floor broke me out of my reverie, snapping my thoughts back to the present. "I must go," the words slipped out before I could stop them.

"But you said you would hear me sing," he said, looking surprisingly hurt at my leaving.

I took his hand in mine and gave him a reassuring squeeze, "I know and you'll do amazing, but I am leaving tonight and it was hard enough staying this long." I lied.

"You can't make the journey in the middle of the night, it's too dangerous."

I looked to the ground and let go of his hand, not wanting to look into his eyes when I lied to him again. "I must get home to see my family as soon as possible, they need me."

Before he could respond, I turned away, walking in the opposite direction that my heart yearned to take, but before I could stop myself I turned around and said, "I'll write," before sprinting towards the door, pushing through the crowd, mumbling half-meaningful apologies.

The long walk home took longer than I expected. Once I reached the house it was nearly one in the morning.

The lights were on everywhere unnerving me to the bone. _The house should be fast asleep, _I thought to myself, but that was not what chilled me as the manor grew closer. It was the noise inside; none. The night was quiet and I could hear the soft breeze as it whizzed past my ear.

I decided it was best to enter through the servants' entrance. I slipped through the thick wooden door in the back of the house, half covered by vegetation. I silently made my way to my room, hustling through the door only to find Mum Olga siting on my bed, looking through a stack of papers.

Before I could sneak out of the room, unnoticed, she spoke up, her voice unnervingly sweet, "You went to the balls." She looked up and her eyes showed anything but sweetness; they were small pits of anger. "You danced with the prince, the little scullery maid danced with the prince." She threw the stack of papers she was reading onto the ground, revealing what they were. "The little scullery maid wrote to the prince."

Shock coursed through my body as I realized the papers were all the letters Char wrote me, every single one, a half of a year of correspondence. "You were going through my stuff." Bile rose in my throat as I thought of the small amount of possessions I had being searched through by my horrid stepmother.

"You insolent child, going behind my back, trying to weasel your way into the Royal family. Well, no one wants an umbilical scullery maid like yourself. You are _nothing_. So don't think that you'll ever be anything more than that," she spat and then, picking up the small, lit candle from my bed, she bent down, lighting the edge of the papers, waiting until it was all consumed in flames before stomping on the remainder of the paper so that the fire doesn't engulf the entire house. I then mourned the loss of Char's words, every last one, but did not show it one my face for I was utterly aware of the older woman's presence in the room; a wolf in the midst of it's all too suspecting prey.

I stayed upon my feet even though I wished to bend down and try to salvage as many of the letters as possible. She looked down on me as if I were a small child in need of ridicule, but I felt I did nothing wrong, only I did nothing right, walking the narrow pathway between right and wrong, sadness and happiness, but I feel the pull of one over the other. The call was swaying me toward their black and white path, but here in the middle, there is nothing but gray, a vast expanse of the dull color.

She approach me slowly, taking each step as little victory, "Ella, you will pay for all the shame you brought to our family name, and you will be sorry for the rest of your life." She looked as if she was going to leave the room, but instead she lifted her arm and suddenly I felt a warm sensation take over my cheek, spreading across my skin before the pain hit; white hot and furious. Mum Olga left the room and me standing there trying to process what had happened, my hand holding my cheek.

Mandy rushed and when she saw me, she took my hand in hers, "We must leave."

I looked at her, surprise evident in my eyes, "What? Why?"

She walked over and started to pack my things, "If she is going to hurt you like that we must leave. We will start anew." Once she finished packing my things, she walked over and took a look at my cheek, treating it.

"Mandy, where shall we go?" I asked, but all she did was shrug. "How about Bast?"

"Why not? It's only a few days' trip." She picked up her bag, which I hadn't noticed she had gotten, and we were on our way.

We didn't leave in a flashy way, in the middle of the night being chased, we just walked out.

I looked back upon the old manor and realized I would not miss it at all. I had Mandy and we were going to start a new life. The only thing that upset me was leaving Char. He probably still hated me and I did not blame him. I was not a good person; selfish. I fell in love with him only to have to break his heart in the end. I would never forgive myself, he shouldn't either.

**Thanks for reading.**

**Do you like it.**

**I know probably no one will read this, and I just wrote it for my amusement. Well, I also wrote it for my friend. You know who you are. *wink wink***

**Hope you enjoyed!**


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